“I watched Elizabeth shoot Brinda. I watched her…” Marshall’s voice cracked. “All I did was a facade, man. I couldn't have killed Brinda. I can't. It's all because of her that Brinda is missing today.”
His eyes shimmered—not with tears, but with something deeper. A hollow sadness. A guilt that clung like smoke to his lungs.Scar exhaled, arms folded. “Your obsession with Brinda might lead to your destruction.”Marshall’s lips curled into a smirk—maddened, broken. “Let it destroy me. I don't care.” He dropped to his knees like a ruined priest before a shrine. “I thought you accepted Alice.”Scar tilted his head. “Didn’t you say…”“Don't you know?” Marshall interrupted. “A mafia only gives his heart once.” He lifted his head and met Scar’s eyes. “And I gave mine to Brinda. She’s hurt me. Over and over. But I still can’t see her existence snuffed out. I'd rather chain her, hide her from the world, bathe her, feed her… I don’t need her love.BrindaFor reasons I couldn’t quite understand, I had been rolling helplessly on my bed for the past five fucking hours. I tossed, turned, sighed — then tossed again. My body was tired, but my mind was wide awake, tangled up in frustration and expectation.Bullet had knocked and tried to speak to me, but I shut her down cold. Daisy too had poked her head in, and I had sent her away with barely a word.But the only person I truly wanted to see… didn’t show up.Francesco.That son of a bitch. After everything, he didn’t come. Not even a knock. Not even a whisper through the door.I groaned in annoyance and pulled the blanket over my head, cursing myself for not locking the damn door. Maybe I could bury myself alive beneath the covers and disappear forever.But then, I felt something small — and annoyingly ticklish — creeping under the blanket near my chest. I jolted.“Benna,” I mumbled.In a blink, she yanked
FrancescoI sat restlessly in the car, my fingers drumming against the wheel. Brinda was taking far too long. I watched as the last few cars from the crowd pulled away, disappearing into the dusk. Something wasn’t right.I messaged her.No response.Bullet raised a brow beside me, silently questioning, but I was already halfway out the door. A sharp, crawling unease slithered through my chest.I found her at the back of the car. Standing still. Rigid. Silent. Her body blocked whatever had caught her attention.“Brinda?” I called out, but she didn’t move.I edged around her slowly.And then I saw her.A small girl—no more than ten. Standing there with large, knowing eyes. Her posture was composed, too composed for someone so young. But what shattered me… was her face.She looked like me. A perfect replica.My breath hitched. My body froze.I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t blink. I stare
BrindaI watched the blood pool around Valerie’s neck as she lay still on the floor, her eyes hauntingly open.Tears streamed down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. I hadn’t known her as deeply as Francesco had, hadn’t shared as much history—but I couldn’t deny what I felt. Valerie had been kind, warm. Just her presence reminded me of the gentle bond I once shared with Sarah, my stepmother.I dropped to my knees beside Valerie’s lifeless body. Trembling, I tried to lift her into my arms, but her body slumped backward, cold and heavy. She was gone. She no longer had control over anything—not even gravity.She was always so agile, so sharp. Who would’ve thought she would end up this way, stiff and vulnerable in death?But no—this wasn’t just death. She hadn’t simply “kicked the bucket,” had she? She was murdered—brutally.I scanned her body more closely… and that’s when I saw it. The long, deep gash across her neck. My brea
“Brinda, are you running out of your mind?” Bullet snapped, throwing her arms into the air in disbelief. “Who had come?” Brinda’s voice was low, haunted. “The one who will destroy us all.” Francesco yanked her around to face him, his brows furrowed with rising dread. “This had better not be a joke, Brinda. Who is that?” “If Elizabeth could kill Dominic with her own hands... and Alessia is no more, then who was she speaking with that day? When I was kidnapped?” Brinda asked, her mind spinning like a wheel with no brakes. “It could be Dominic. He’s dead,” Francesco replied stiffly. Brinda’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just say could? That uncertainty is exactly why I feel so damn uneasy. Something feels off.” “Why?” Bullet asked, drawing closer now, a trace of concern in her voice. “As you instructed,” Brinda turned to Francesco, “I intercepted Elizabeth at the back door. She was tryin
Leopard’s eyes burned with rage, the pain of losing his twin brother still fresh and raw. With a furious cry, he charged at Marshall.Francesco kicked Elizabeth aside and caught Brinda as she stumbled. Her body fell into his arms, and a weak but warm smile played on her lips.Marshall spun around to snatch Brinda back from Francesco—only to be met with the cold steel of a blade in his chest, driven by Leopard.“Why...?” Marshall choked out, tears spilling as he struggled to breathe.His life flashed before his eyes. But he couldn’t change a thing. He grunted, then collapsed backward. He sobbed helplessly before giving up the ghost.Scar, distracted by the unfolding chaos, let his guard down. Bullet took the chance—she wrapped a cloth tightly around his neck and, in one clean move, dropped him on his back. One of her men leapt off her shoulders and landed on Scar, plunging a blade into his chest—right into his heart.Scar’s hand t
“Fire!!!”Brinda’s voice cracked through the night like thunder, raw with rage and desperation. The violent staccato of gunfire followed instantly, bullets erupting into the air and slicing through the heavy silence like blades. Her men opened fire with fierce intensity, their rifles aimed at the black bulletproof car stationed ahead.Elizabeth flinched at the sound. “Move, damn you!” she hissed, slapping the back of her driver’s head. He didn’t respond. He didn’t even flinch. She reached forward again with trembling hands, only to find his body limp—eyes wide open, mouth ajar.He was gone. Dead.A cold shiver coursed through her spine, and she clenched her fists, jaw grinding. Before she could react, a second wave of gunfire cracked behind her—this time targeting Brinda’s men. Two of them dropped instantly, their bodies thudding against the pavement.Chaos ensued. Elizabeth’s loyal men emerged from the shadows with merciless precision, c